
Originally Posted by
Merc.
I don't know if members are "clients"...we get a free place to hang out and learn about steroids. If we were clients, we'd be paying. Advertisers are clients, I think...because I'm sure they pay. But members on a free site really aren't. I know where you're coming from though.
I do know that based on the price of the profiles (there's was a thread on here where) Brian offered $200-250/profile for people to improve the site. And if you do the math, there's over 50 profiles...so Brian paid like over $10k to give us members something for free to learn from. And those profiles have always been free for us.
God knows what it costs for a 5-10 page article. But there's tons of them on the main page that Brian must have paid A-Rob to write. And we get them for free...I can't imagine a better deal. HE pays $15k+ and we get all of it for free.
And in terms of competitors, steroid.com doesn't have any! If a site really thinks they're our (this site, you and me, and Brian and Tony - all of us are in this together) competitors, then they won't allow the link. Brian chooses to run his business this way. Most steroid discussion sites on the 'net are hobbies, not businesses I think. I could always be wrong, but if this were my living, I wouldn't allow people to outlink.
If it were my hobby, then I would. We all know this site isn't a hobby. This is serious.
Also, we (all of us!) have a bigger role than those other sites, in terms of steroids and responsibility.. When the authors of the BALCO steroid book "Game of Shadows" needed to know about winstrol, where did they turn? Steroid.com (we are mentioned in chapter 8's references). Where did the NY Times turn? Or the BBC? Or Yahoo Sports? C'mon...we have a huge responsibility here, and we should ALL be on board. We should help any way we can I think.
We may even be helping a university conduct a study soon, and Anthony (wonder why we haven't heard from him in so long?) is on the phone daily with the media, doing interviews, and getting the truth out there. We'll be helping promote a steroid documentary (Bigger, Stronger, Faster, By Chris Bell).
In June Anthony will be speaking in front of 500 people about steroids, at an academic event. Telling the truth to people who matter. That takes money for him (and us) to have the time, resources, and support to research. And that takes this site. And I think linking to us outside will help all of that.
And that means if we can link others to here, we should. At least I think so.
When these other sites do what Brian has graciously allowed us the voice and resources to do, then maybe we'll link to them too. This is too important not to help us with, for every member.
Sorry if I seem heated, I just know what goes on every day with steroid.com and all of that (friends with Tony, and work with him as the President of Muscle Evolution), and I know that all of us benefit from this site and no other site is trying to really change things in the steroid world (unless complaining = trying).
I just think, and maybe I'm out of line (I don't mean to be) that this site is doing so much for every single steroid user out there that in this case we deserve links on other sites regardless of reciprocation.